I received some life-changing news last week when I found out that my article submission to elitefts was accepted.
For the last 5-6 years, I have read that site religiously. The founder is a man I hold in the highest regard. Dave Tate is a man among men, as are most of the other strength athletes associated with his site. And now after years of passionately pursuing my dreams, I am going to be published alongside those very men! Words cannot describe the feelings, thoughts and emotions I have experienced since I read that acceptance message. I am tremendously excited, but most of all, I am honored, humbled, and a bit nervous to stand shoulder to shoulder with these giants.
To give you an example of what I mean, I want to share with you some excerpts from Dave’s latest article. At first, I wanted to model this post after his, but find a way to make it my own. But then I realized, there is no way I can relay this message to you any better than Dave does. So without further ado, here is Part 1 of Dave’s article “This Doesn’t Suck”. (Part 2 will be next Friday, so if you like this, stay tuned for the rest!)
Your Best
This brings me to the next topic. Last week I asked on my twitter page, “How do you really know you have given your all? How do you know you have done your best?” I used to have a boss that every time I would submit my work, wouldn’t even look up and say “Is this the best you can do?” For the first month, this would always send me back to my desk there were always change I made that made it better. Once the month was over, he quit asking the question because I made sure everything I submitted was the best I could do. During my 90 day review, I was asked why I felt it was OK to submit sub-par work, when I was being employed to give them the best I could do. I was politely told they hired the guy that was on the resume and who they interviewed and when I agreed to the terms of the position I agreed to provide them with what I “sold” them I was and that during those first 30 days, I was not living up to my end of the deal because I was not working to the best of my ability. The thing about this was that he never even looked at the work the first time it was presented. I KNEW it wasn’t the best I could do and he made me accountable for it. Maybe this is why I deleted the article from last night. To answer my own question, I think we all know if we are giving our best or not. Deep inside…we know. This isn’t really the issue at hand. The issue is – are you willing to give your best on a consistent basis and work to make your best better?
Ordinary or Extraordinary
I posted each of these videos in my log several times over the years. Like I referred to at the start of this article, there are great lessons out there, but they always forget to tell you something. These videos will demonstrate what I mean and truthfully what you already know.
[tube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSM1mvMypWU[/tube]
In this video Brock is shown that he is capable of much more than he thought. Now, let’s go back to the 80/20 rule. You think Brock would’ve realized this same lesson in the first 20 yards, or was it the LAST FEW YARDS that made the difference? Was it 20 percent, or was it the last 1 percent he had left? Now, I’m sure some would say NO Dave you are seeing this all wrong. It was those last 20 yards that made the difference, thus the 80/20 rule applies. REALLY, well how in the hell did he get to the last 20 yards!?!?
“It’s not so important who starts the game but who finishes it.” –John Wooden
Now onto what we all know: giving your all comes down to your own personal choice and decision. Not everyone will have a coach nose-to-grass up in your ass to get those extra yards. This has to come from within you! Not from some outside source. You may or may not have a coach to do this for you, or a boss who asks, “Is this your best?” To be honest, most of the people I met in my life would NOT want this done and would be insulted if it was. I have friends at other jobs that I know for a fact are not giving close to their best and they know it. If their boss was to ask them if what they are doing is their best work, or question the work they do in any way…they would get pissed off about it – yet they know it’s not close to what they can do. Why? Because this what “ordinary” people do. This is what average people do and this is why they stay average. These people are not like Brock in this video, but they are all those kids that stood up. Each one of those kids, when they stood up were asking themselves…”What if?” After that they had a decision to make. Would they be “ordinary” or chose to be “extraordinary?”
OK, it’s Ryan talking again – I hope you enjoyed that post!
I want you to know that I expect and accept only the best from myself. When my hands hit the iron, I empty my tank – every time I TRAIN. And I expect the same from my athletes and clients. If you’re looking for a coach to go “nose-to-grass up in your ass”, look no farther – I’m here to help you become extraordinary!
Coach Ryan